


the smile that isn't his

by anon_drabble



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Kingdom Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M, Short One Shot, Suggested Axel/Roxas, poor axel, suggested romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 13:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19274725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anon_drabble/pseuds/anon_drabble
Summary: just something very short i wrote in bed. yes, i'm way behind and still playing kh3 and i am just getting to the end where terra finally revealed himself and everyone died, lol. so i don't know what will happen but all i want is for poor axel to be happy, hahaha.after watching the cut scene with everyone in yensid's tower, though, i kinda gotta admit i started shipping axel and ventus. 😶





	the smile that isn't his

Another look-alike. How many times now would Axel see that face, yet it never belonged to Roxas? Being around Sora was bad enough, knowing that Roxas was somehow both inside of Sora but also was Sora. Maybe he put up with it, maybe he pretended it didn’t bother him. But sometimes, Sora would say a word and it would just strike this chord in Axel. He didn’t remember everything and probably never would. So the things that reminded him of Roxas weren’t always things Axel remembered. He didn’t remember the way Roxas would kick his shoes off the side of the clock tower when laughing at a joke. But he’d see Sora shuffle his feet and suddenly all he could think of was Roxas. 

Still, he’d gotten good at hiding that. He pretended it didn’t hurt being reminded of what he couldn’t save, couldn’t find. But when he had the chance, he’d be at the clock tower, ice cream in hand. Did Roxas used to eat two cones? For some reason, Axel always bought three. One for him and one for Roxas but was the third for Roxas too? Yet another hole in his memory. 

Then Sora did it. He saved Aqua, pulled her out of darkness. She immediately took Sora to Ventus. She was the one who knew where Ventus was. He slept but Sora (the golden boy, the one everyone preferred--except maybe Axel) woke him. Everyone celebrated. This would certainly bring Terra back as well! Sora could do no wrong! Cheers and fanfare. 

Except from Axel. He stood off to the side with Kairi as everyone spoke and caught up, and Master Yensid guided them. Axel tried to focus on the matter at hand. Find Terra. Then they’d be one step closer to Roxas, too. But he was shaken. Ventus. He looked just like Roxas. Sounded like him. Everything seemed the same. 

Again, Axel remembered little. But every part of Ventus made him almost shake with not-quite-memories of Roxas. Reminders. A feeling that Roxas was there. But he wasn’t. Roxas remained missing. Gone. Forever? No, Axel wouldn’t accept that. 

“Lea,” a voice said. No. No. Axel couldn’t hide his expression.The joy at hearing  _ that voice _ call his name. His real name, too! But no. Not really. The pain tainted his smile. The boy who spoke his name was Ventus. Not Roxas. No, Roxas had never said Axel’s real name. He’d never known it. Did he even know that Axel had once been a real person named Lea? Did Roxas see through Sora’s eyes? Or did he sleep like Sora had when Roxas lived? Did Roxas know...that Axel was looking for him? 

So many things went unsaid. The time they’d shared felt too short. Axel would find Roxas, somehow bring him back, and tell him all the things he hadn’t before. Stupid things like the new flavor of ice cream to try. Important things like Axel’s real name… And most importantly, the truth. No more being manipulated and tricked. They’d be on their own, making their own decisions. Not some mindless pawns for the latest evil to threaten the light world. 

Once Axel found Roxas. But right now, it was Ventus before him. Not Roxas. The fantasy of speaking to Roxas again faded but hurt more than ever. 

 

_ I’ll find you. I swear. I won’t forget. I got it memorized. I got you memorized. _


End file.
